A Dance with the Devil
by Silmuen
Summary: The Order under Raziel's rule and the Chaos that the human brings, or maybe it is just a simple story, who knows?Chapter 2 up! :)
1. Default Chapter

"Dance to the rhythm of war -drums  
  
Sing to the Devil's praise  
  
Live in the wolves' lair  
  
Let the Devil take you to the halls of death  
  
Birds of prey  
  
Dance with us on the sky."  
  
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Seffra looked up at the gray walls smothered with black ivy. Sitting by the fire and chanting an ancient melody, she gently rocked a baby wrapped in brown rags. Even by human standards she was no longer young and this was the last of the 12 little brats she had given birth to. Reddish flame of the torches made a wavering lattice of shadows and light over the camp. Brown cloth tents lay sprawled like some giant insects, the fires drawn dark circles of humans around them. Seffra cast a handful of sand onto the flames and watched them choke. Her large green eyes gleamed in the reddish flame.  
  
A woman holding a large clay bowl passed nearby, glancing at her briefly. Seffra was considered to be a "ruye'h'dah", a shaman. She smirked as she noted fear in the other woman's eyes. She studied the position of the logs in the fire and the color of the flame for a while and then, her gaze went up to the towering spires of the Keep. The steep, white, stone walls encircling the camps. Rising into the black, starless sky, awe-inspiring. White towers and walls clasped the camp like a slave collar.  
  
Never taking her eyes of a dark, gaping opening in one of the towers, she continued on her monotonous chanting.her voice strengthened with a knowledge of the future.  
  
The Fortress was lit by thousands of bluish flames. The new kind of trees evolved in Nosgoth, under the pressure of the changing climate, and the shortage of sunlight. Its wood burned with blue flame. The Razielim Fortress was filled with the bluish shimmer of the fire. The Keeper, Silma, casually strolled down the main hall, her dagger-sharp mind surveying the courtiers and the groups of soldiers.  
  
The Razielim Order was the priority of the Clan. She was the Enforcer and the Keeper of the Order. Allowing her lips to form a courteous smile, she passed a group of Ritual Dancers and proceeded to the lowest sections of the Fortress. Not many high born vampires descended there, but she saw to the order personally. She attended to the matters of the cattle in the Enclaves as well.  
  
Humans, she smirked.  
  
Reduced from noble families into primal tribes that camped in the wall- confined Enclaves. The human tribes were allowed to interbreed but under restriction of the breeding programme that had been devised by Kain.  
  
The cattle was bred to produce physically finest examples of humans. The taste of their blood improved with every generation. Silma smirked again as she observed the brown beetles of the tents and plumes of smoke from the camp fires.  
  
The finest were chosen to accommodate the needs of the finest. The chosen ones who were taught the Rituals of Blood and prepared to sacrifice their life harboring no regret. Sometimes, the humans were allowed a small rebellion to clear the accumulated need for violence and make the blood clear.  
  
A victim should be clean of emotions. The vampire created the overtones of taste - the vampire spiced the human with desired emotions.  
  
She descended to a platform above the Shyntarra Enclave and estimated the required number of the victims. No need for ceremonies. These humans will never need to be trained.  
  
The Master was not in playful mood.  
  
The Master was simply thirsty.  
  
The Master was Changing.  
  
The vampire lady lined the humans and ordered the slaves to chain them together and lead them up to the highest chambers of the Fortress. The Ruye'h'dah was smiling secretly to herself, her posture slightly hunched by the weight of the chain. She was whispering something from time to time, trying to push the heavy locks of hair from her face. She nodded, satisfied. The ancient lore had proven to be true once again. They returned to the Devil Lair in the end. The dance was about to begin.  
  
Tis simply a short story I felt the urge to write. It had come with the inspiration that shaped the remaining chapters in my mind. Please tell me what you think. Ah, Raziel will be there shortly, fear not. 


	2. Silence

Hah forgot to mention that I do not own Raz nor Nosgoth. Go kiss an orc if you think otherwise ;)  
  
Silence. As if extracted from an ancient tomb, still, thick silence of the ages. It stunned a human brain, stunning it by cutting it off from the quotidian habitat of noise it always lived it. Perfect stillness. Seffra opened her eyes and surveyed the hall they were thrown into. The air was perfectly dry, it made one's throat parched and the eyes water. The paint was peeling off the walls. The place was a dreary, empty tomb. And, she knew, it was the path into the infinite.  
  
The humans did not despise the Devil. Neither did they love him. Death was not a loss, it was merely a passage into a better realm. It was a shame to mourn. It was a shame to fear death. The Humans often tried to picture the Devil, to depict him with paint or carved his images. But not one man or woman of the tribe ever saw him. It was a privilege to have one's life transformed into the heavenly existence by the Devil himself.  
  
The humans sat huddled on the sandy arena of the hall and chanted sad melodies. Their minds soared above the world, gathering their thoughts and feelings. That was the only burden they knew they could take into the Otherworld.  
  
Seffra smiled, listening to the ancient tunes. Although old, she too was impressed by the wealth of the Keep. But the greatest miracle she caught a glimpse of on her way, were the flowers. Great, purple blossoms that seemed to billow in the wind. The lush green ivies and the gnarled trees, all in abundance and all in one huge garden. It seemed impossible. Life. Flowers...  
  
The Devil's Lair lay underneath the keep. It was a vast artificial cavern, with carved pillars to carry the roof and marble tiled floor. In the middle, a rectangular block of marble rested.. The Chamber was dark, not a ray of sunlight penetrated to the thick walls. Subdued, red glow of torches lit the monumental shapes of the room. Suspended on heavy chains, cages hung from the ceiling. This way the humans were lowered into the chamber. Red curtains with the white zigzags of the Razielim sigil adorned the walls.  
  
A sound of heavy chains. A rush of air from above. . On the platform above, Silma signaled that it was time. The cages were being lowered into the Chamber.  
  
The line of the reddish sky slowly disappeared out of her sight as Seffra descended into the darkness of the chamber. The images of monstrous orchids from the garden flashed before her eyes as the darkness enveloped her.  
  
She looked down, between the wide bars of the cage. Small dots of red lights flickered here and there. She was being submerged into a sea or red, thick, warm fog. Her hands on the cold bars, she watched the emerging giant pillars and the approaching floor. Her eyes rested on the altar. She froze. A dark shape was there. She couldn't tell what it was.but.  
  
Her fingers closed on an amulet that was hanging from her neck. She felt the familiar shape and felt its power and it soothed her storming emotions. Calm yourself, she whispered. You must be strong. You must face this. This is no fable or legend. It's reality.  
  
The cages rested on the marble floor. Silence fell again, and it crushed them. Heads hung down, they sat in their little prisons. Waiting.  
  
Silma smirked as she saw the cages reach the bottom of the chamber. The Master was awakening. The dark vibrations of his growing hunger touched her mind. The deepest, primal, thirst that sprang from the ashes of sleep. Making her way, down a spiral staircase, she was thinking about that latest Change that came over her Master. She could remember the night when it began so clearly.  
  
A memory of his sharp claws on her skin, flashed through her mind. Suffering drove him half-mad. But there was no time, nor reason for harboring grudges. She nursed her wounds and put the burning memory back into a shadow.  
  
A good servant always accepted the will of the master.  
  
Her mind came back to the group of cattle she brought and she smiled, satisfied. The best specimens of the Enclaves. Surely they would satisfy the needs of the Master. She adjusted her robes and entered her study. Piles of books lay scattered about, pieces of parchment littered the room. How did the humans call the Master?  
  
The Devil.chuckling softly, she took a quill and began recording the changes in the cattle numbers.  
  
Seffra 's mind was filled with ancient chants and spells. They rushed at her, as if trying to protect her. She used them to put a wall before her mind, to protect herself from this imposing presence.It was Him.  
  
She felt the deep, raw power that emanated from the figure that lay on the stone. For the first time in her life, she felt true fear. It swelled up inside of her, like a black tumor and poisoned the mind.  
  
Dance with the Devil.She took a deep shuddering breath and let her gaze wander to the motionless figure in the center of the Chamber.  
  
Now, from the mist of legends and tales emerged his true image.  
  
Deionarra, Lilith and Spectral Sereda, thank you SO MUCH for reviewing this :D YAY! Hehe, Raz appears in the next chapter. Yus yus!  
  
Spectral: the names, you ask, well Silma and Shyntarra are names of fictional RP characters I met or I role-played. Seffra comes form the word: Sefer (Seraphim) but I do like playing with names. I plan to introduce some nice names to the Firstborn 


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